A fine, short read. It is a sad, little story, mostly because it is such a recognisable one – something we’ve seen play out over and over again in the last 70 years.

I later learnt it was written in 1945, which frankly blew my mind. Orwell was prescient in his vision of the future, and likely did a great service in warning of the dangers and misery that was to accompany communist regimes. Animal Farm deserves all the praise that it has received.

But reading it now in 2026 it just feels like another depressing, cynical book about the future.